


Safety Issues

by Happykiss



Category: High Tide (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-11
Updated: 2016-01-11
Packaged: 2018-05-13 06:07:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5697850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Happykiss/pseuds/Happykiss
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Now it was Mick's turn to feel heat crawling up his cheeks. He had hoped this conversation could have waited a little longer, maybe until Joey was about 30 or so. No such luck.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Safety Issues

"Hey kiddo, are you home?" 

The dark haired man called while slipping out of his dark blue police uniform and unholstering his gun at the same time.

Like always, the weapon went into the safe straight away, where is was hidden from small imploring hands. Of course he had a serious and lengthily talk with Joey about not touching the gun, right after the kid had moved in with him. But Mick knew very well from previous experience, that sometimes his little brother just couldn't help himself.

"Joey?" The tall young cop hollered again. It wasn't that their place was that big and evidently the little guy wasn't home right now. He must be down at the youth centre, as it was his usual hangout place after school. If he had even made it to school today. 

It was now getting close to two years since their parents death and Joey coming to live with him but Mick still wasn't so sure about his role in this game. 

He was the older sibling, the adult and official guardian but he was only 22 years old himself. And raising his teenage brother was a whole different matter than seeing him grow up beside him, under the gentle and well versed care of their parents.

He was nearing the end of his rope soon. On most days, Joey could be such a great kid. Funny, charming and even listening to his big brother but there were certain mood swings that came and set in at the most inconvenient times. 

Mick knew that it was hard for the boy, not only losing their parents but also having to change schools and moving into a different part of the city. But what was he supposed to do? He had just overcome his rookie status at the precinct, so him and his partner Jeff would be assigned to the tougher cases. That also meant to invest more time and dedication going into his work. And as a result, less time to spend with Joey. 

The boy said he understood and that it wasn't a big deal but still Mick couldn't shake the feeling that it really wasn't all fine and dany between them. 

There was skipping school for instance. Joey had never been the most studious but he used to do all right with his grades and went to his classes willingly.

Now Mick got near weekly calls from the school concerning his little brother's homework, attitude or general attendance. Nothing Mick had tried seemed to work though. They had yelled at each other, he had grounded Joey or taken his privileges away but the kid only seemed to get into more trouble. 

There hadn't been any calls from the school today, so that was a small blessing.

Mick sighed and decided to skip his plans to shower and nap. Instead he would drive down to the centre, collect his brother and take him surfing for the rest of the day. It would do them both good.

The youth centre was located downtown, near Joeys' school and right on the way to the beach. You would think the boy would be more punctual, now that his school was in walking distance and he didn't have to take a bus anymore but still his brother managed to be late on four days out of five. 

And true enough, there was his little brother standing at the far side of the building, his arm wrapped around a tall slender redhead and bouncing slightly on his tiptoes while tongue-wrestling with the girl.

Mick didn't know if he should be rather proud or scared that Joey had finally discovered his interest in the fairer sex. But it seemed the kid had a new love interest every couple of weeks now. And the girls swarmed him like bees around the honey. Of course they definitely shared the same genes if Mick remembered his own time in high school correctly.

He beeped the horn twice and watched the couple startle away from each other. Mick saw now that not only was the girl taller than his brother but a couple of years older as well. How in the world had Joey managed to charm a senior? 

"Hey baby-boy, wanna catch some waves?" Mick yelled while he watched Joeys' face display a rapid change of different emotions. Joy and glee for having his big brother come to take him surfing, anger and embracement for being called that nickname in front of the girl. 

She laughed clear as a bell and pecked his lips once more before sauntering off to stand with her two waiting girlfriends.

Joey sullenly grabbed his rucksack from the ground and trudged over to his brother's car. He flung the bag and himself into the backseat instead of sitting up front with his brother and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Why did you have to go and call me that in front of everyone?", the kid snarled angrily. 

Mick pulled his eyebrows up in surprise. His parents had bestowed that nickname upon him after Joey was born and they weren't able to choose a first name that they both liked. 

His mom wanted to call him Patrick after her grandfather but his dad wouldn't have it. So they only called him their baby-boy for a couple of days until the ten-year old Mick came up with a first name they both could agree on. Joey didn't even know to this day that it was his big brother that had named him.

But the nickname had stuck, his mom and dad often calling their youngest child whenever they wanted to express their love for him. And Mick did as well but maybe not for much longer, judging by the scowl on his brothers face. 

"All right, I won't do that again. But care to tell me who that young lady was you were 'talking' to?" He emphasised the word while making quotation marks into the air. 

Joeys' face lit up once again, he buckled his belt and leaned against the back of the passenger seat. "Oh that? That was Linda. She's quite a catch don't you think?" He beamed up at Mick and the older man laughed out loud. That was more the Joey he knew. 

"I'd say! But what happened with Kathy? Or was it Cassie?" Mick thought out loud while he drove towards the beach. Who could keep track of all their names?

But Joey knew who he meant. "Katie and I split up ages ago. She wanted to concentrate on her cheerleading," the boy supplied. Even though he made it sound like the girl had initiated the break-up, Mick was quite sure it might have more to do with his brother's new love conquest.

"Right, so Linda is going to your school I assume? She must be what, two classes ahead of you?", the older Barrett asked. 

"Three actually," grinned the boy at him. 

"Whoa, easy tiger. Don't you think you're a little young for her?" Mick asked while glancing in the back mirror.

"Too young? You're kidding, right?", the boy scoffed. They were nearly at the beach and Mick really wanted to have this talk over and done with before they arrived. 

"You know- well, I mean-" the older sibling struggled out. "Did you and dad even talk about sex yet?". There, now he had said it. And the look on Joeys' face was truly priceless. 

"Aw man, why did you say that? That's gross! You're my brother, I don't want to talk to you about that," the kid moaned and the tips of his ears flushed bright pink.

"Well, I don't want to either but if you want to date a 16 year old girl, that's definitely something we gotta discuss," Mick added sternly. Kids these days, he thought.

"No, I swear we weren't doing anything but kissing," the boy mumbled while his eyes stared longingly at the sea. If they were just going to get over this topic, they could be riding the waves already. 

Mick chuckled. "Yeah sure and you know what kissing leads to? Sex, that's what. And after that, what if she gets pregnant because you didn't know how to handle a condom?". Now it was Mick's turn to feel heat crawling up his cheeks. He had hoped this conversation could have waited a little longer, maybe when Joey was about 30 or so. No such luck.

"No one is getting pregnant!", Joey shouted while covering his hot face with his hands in frustration. "I have sex ed classes at school and I know what to do with a condom. We were just kissing," he tried again and Mick saw that his brother was honest with him. And if talking about the topic brought on this kind of reaction in Joey, maybe the talk could wait a little longer.

Another couple of weeks maybe, if they were lucky.

"Can we go and surf now, please? Or do you want me to give you some tips concerning your own meager luck with women?" Joey peaked out between his fingers and a sneaky grin spread out over his face. He too, was relieved that Mick was backing off for now.

"Yeah, let's go, wise guy," the older sibling laughed and swatted at his brother before jumping out of the car. 

They raced each other to one of the little beach shacks that Mick had rented from one of his surf-buddy's, to store their boards and other equipment because they didn't have enough space back at the apartment.

A couple of minutes later they were doing what they both loved the most, gliding on their boards over the wild ocean.


End file.
